The Things You Do!
by EnigmaticMind2016
Summary: An exploration of Buck and Keeva's feelings as they begin to fall for each other. BuckxKeeva
1. chapter 1

**A/N: So Guest said that they'd like to see the begining of Buck and Keeva's relationship, and what makes Keeva like Buck so much. While most of the development of their relationship will take place in _A Wolf's Cry_ , I couldn't resist writing a little something.**

 **Only, I'm trying a little something new. Let me know what you guys think!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age. I do own Keeva and my OCs.**

The Things You Do!

Prompt 1: Water

Keeva eased out of her den and out into the open, slinking her way along to a nearby stream for her morning drink. Along the way, and even as she dipped her head toward the water, she kept a watchful eye. Partly for the potential danger, but mostly because she knew what was about to happen.

"Geronimo!"

Buck came swinging in on a vine, landing in the water with a big splash that Keeva, unfortunately, was unable to dodge.

 _"Buck!"_ Keeva drew the weasel's name out in a long complacent whine. "Lighten up, Wolfie, its just water." Keeva's eyes narrowed, but she couldn't resist a smirk as she shook out her waterlogged fur, subsequently spraying the weasel with water.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, _whoa!_ "

"Lighten up Buck," Keeva grinned, "it's just water."

Prompt 2: Pretty

Buck was, for once, feeling a little unsure of himself. It's been a long time since he'd seen a female, let alone taken any interest in one. Never mind one outside of his species.

He didn't know why his thoughts strayed when he looked at Keeva, who was presently playing with with the T-Rex triplets. Her fur shone, not quite black, making the blue of her eyes pop. Ah, but her smile, _that's_ what made his heart pump just a little faster. It was just so...pretty.

"Buck?" Keeva called out to him sporting that heart stopping smile. "Hey Buck! Come join us the kids want to play Hide and Seek!"

Prompt 3: Shedding

"Ugh! You've got to be kidding me!"

As Keeva was learning, Dinotopia was a lot warmer than the aboveworld. As a result, the she-wolf's thick winter fur was shedding, and it was the most uncomfortable experience in the world. Not to mention _embarrassing._

"Keeva? Lass, are you here?" Buck called from outside the den. Keeva's breath hitched, haunting her nipping and scratching at her loose fur. "Don't come in!" She yelped, hoping he'd listen, but knowing he wouldn't. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Buck, just-sheesh!" The she-wolf cut herself off to nip at a troublesome spot on her hip.

"Keeva? I'm coming in now!"

"No!" He couldn't see her like this! She was haggard.

It was too late, within seconds Buck was taking in the whole scene.

"Shedding?" He asked a smile surfacing.

"Yeah." Keeva folded her ears back self consciously, but the weasel didn't appear bothered by her rugged state. "Let me help."

Turns out that knife was good for more than stabbing things. It also made for a good sheet. Within two hours, thanks to their combined efforts, Keeva was laying much more comfortably. A large pile of dark fur collected in the corner.

"How have you not had a heat stroke?" Keeva just laughed leaning over and nudging his cheek with her nose. "Thanks Buck."

Prompt 4: Storm

Keeva wasn't overly fond of storms, but she had seen her fair share of them. They didn't bother her anymore. Buck, on the other hand, that was one of the only times she ever saw that weasel scared.

So when she smelled the tell-tell signs of rain on the air, she turned to Buck with a smile. "You wanna crash at my place tonight?" He didn't hide his fear of the tempest, it was one of the things she loved (wait, what?) about the weasel, his openness.

Later that night, when the thunder sent him pressing into her side, she wouldn't mention it, just curl a little closer to his side. And if he used her tail like some kind of impromptu security blanket, well, Keeva really didn't mind all that much.

Prompt 5: Nightmares

There was nothing Keeva could do about it really. Ribar's ghost would haunt her forever, nightmares were came to her most nights. The first time she'd had one with Buck around though, that was one for the books.

She remembered his hands on her face, shaking her awake, pulling her back into reality. And when the sobs made speaking impossible, he ran his hands over her face soothingly. He wiped her tears, stroked her damp cheeks and sweat matted headfur, whispering gentle assurances until she eventually quieted.

She was pretty sure he'd stayed awake all night, just to make sure she slept peacefully.

Prompt 6: Howl

Wolves howled, Buck knew that, but he didn't know how many different ways wolves howled until he met Keeva. She'd howled to him for a number of reasons. To let him know where she was, to let him know she was hurt, to assert her (now their) territory, to mourn, and to warn him of impending dangers.

One might think that would make her an easy track, but no, Keeva was a nothing but a shadow when she was on the move.

He'd heard many variations of her howls, but this?

His mate's head was lifted high, nose to the moon (or where the moon would be, were they above ground), howling the sweetest song he'd ever heard in his life. The notes, light and sweet, sent a jolt straight through him.

She was gorgous in the moonlight, slender and lovely, her dark fur absorbing the moonlight, making it glow. She seemed so lost in her song that he wondered if she even remembered he was there.

Her head lowered a moment as she caught her breath, and then she was howling again. She was drawing him into a relaxed state, drawing him closer to her. It...it was almost as if she were calling to him.

Finally, though much too soon for his liking, her song drew to a close. Fading out beautifully as she lowered her head and opened her eyes. She sought him out immediately, smiling at him adoringly as she approached. With a soft giggle, she leaned forward and kissed him, pulling him out of his thoughts. Buck didn't hesitate to pull her closer, deepening the kiss.

 **A/N: So there you go, little snippets of my favorite couple's lives. Please feel free to make a request, leave me a prompt, I'll see what I can do with it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Just a few more prompts that came to mind. Thought I'd share them with you all.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age. I do own my OCs.**

Prompt 7: Toy

Keeva was tired. She'd spent the better part of her day hunting elk with Diego, because Shira was presently unable to do so. And he had an extra three mouths to feed. Diego had offered her part of the kill, knowing she had her own family to feed, but she had refused to take food from his family's table. Besides, her mate was notoriously picky.

So, the rest of the day was spent chasing rabbits. Literally. After an hour and a half of being run around, she finally had a plump rabbit to show for all of her hard work. Not even bothering to hunt her own meal, Keeva turned and sprinted for home.

"Bronwyn! That is not a toy!"

Keeva blinked owlishly, dropping dinner just inside the den as she peered cautiously inside. "Buck?"

Suddenly, a tiny bundle of white fur shot between her legs, giggling like mad, with Buck's knife secured in her jaws. Keeva's jaw slackened and her eyes bugged out, just as Buck himself came speeding by.

Keeva felt a headache blooming.

Baring her teeth, she vaulted over her husband, her long legs recovering the distance made by her wily daughter, and snatched the kit up by the scruff. An act, the five year old Bronwyn did not appreciate as she scowled up at her mother with her deep, dark eyes. Keeva was having none of it, narrowing her own eyes disapprovingly down at her cub.

Buck came forward and pried the weapon out of his daughter's mouth and began a textbook lecture of why _not_ to take Daddy's knife...well, textbook for their family anyway.

Bronywyn's lip trembled and she was soon wailing at having been robbed of her new plaything and Jeeva's ears folded back as she prepared to put the kit down and attempt to console her, making a mental note to ask her mate just _how_ their daughter came to get her paws on his knife.

Prompt 8: Love

It didn't happen the way she expected it to, falling in love, that is. It certainly didn't happen at first sight, and there were no fireworks, or butterflies. In fact, she had only just convinced herself that that tightness she felt in her chest whenever he came around wasn't a bad case of heartburn. It was, however, unforgettable.

They hadn't seen each other most of that day. Rudy was running amuck too close to the nesting grounds (again), so Keeva had taken off to aid the mothers in moving the eggs and hatchlings to a more secure location. Buck had, of course, gone to subdue the albino dino. That had been in the early hours of the morning, and they didn't see each other again until dusk.

Keeva was sprawled out in the grass, watching as the last of the hatchlings tired themselves out and began returing to their temporary nests, when Buck came swinging in. "Hey, mate." Keeva breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She didn't stop him from playing his dangerous games of cat and mouse with Rudy, he knew what he was doing, but that didn't mean his wellbeing hadn't been the topmost worry of her day. "Hey," she lifted her head as he approached. "How'd it go?"

Buck recounted his epic tale as they watched the dinos settled down and the light oranges and purples of dusk deepened to twighlight's blue. There was nothing special about the moment, Buck talked, and she listened. And as the evening wore on her eyes got droopy and her body relaxed more than it should have, given that they were still sort of exposed. Suddenly, his paw sank into her headfur, scratching her scalp in a manner that made her want to thump her leg. His expression was fondly amused when she looked up at him, and the moonlight cast his blue iris in a brilliant light. Still. No butterflies. No fireworks. Nor was she struck by lightning.

She smiled back at him and hauled herself back up. They both had homes to get back to. "I'll walk ya home," Buck said as he reclaimed his knife. Keeva shrugged after she stretched the stiff feeling from her legs. "If you want," she never wanted him to feel obligated. "Thanks."

"No problem." Buck rested the flat of his blade against his shoulder and they were off.

It was then, right then, when she stepped up to his side and he smiled at her. It was toothy and sweet, and a little bit crazed. The tightness returned to her chest as her heart swelled and warmed.

It was that exact moment that Keeva knew she was in love with Buck.

Prompt 9: Fall

Buck knew more than any other mammal to be careful in high places. Especially after a rain storm. Even now, he can't figure out exactly how it happened.

Buck emerged from his hollow with a yawn and a stretch. Scratching at his hip, he looked up at the sky, still early. Idly, he entertained the idea of catching breakfast for Keeva, the she-wolf loved to sleep in. He rolled his eye good-naturedly. He grabbed his knife and prepared to head out when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Keeva approaching the tree. He turned to greet her, but his hello quickly morphed to a yelp as he found himself suddenly freefalling.

Amazingly, there was no vine for him to grab, no way to twist his body to land without injury. There was only open air and a hard jungle floor waiting to catch him. Outside of the initial startled cry, he didn't scream on the way down, what was the point? He did close his eye though, he knew the ground was coming, he didn't want to watch it's approach. He'd know when it got there.

Only, the impact never came.

A set of strong jaws locked around his middle, halting his descent abruptly. For one fearful moment, he thought he'd ended up in the jaws of some passing dino, but then he opened his eye and saw blue eyes staring back at him.

Relief flooded Keeva's eyes as she carefully set him down. "Are you alright?"

Her soft concerned voice melted his heart and made him feel guilty for causing her worry. "I'm fine," he smiled. "Thanks, lass."

"Anytime," she smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So, I know you guys are sitting pretty impatient waiting for updates on A Wolf's Cry, I'm working on it I swear. However, I do have other things that take precedent, like my job, and going to school, and yeah, it's eating up a lot of my time. I warned you guys that updates would slow, or even stop during the school semester, just sit tight. Thanksgiving break is fastly approaching, and with a few days to breathe, I'll more than likely get another chapter up.**

 **Now, please enjoy these prompts while you wait:)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age. I do own my OCs.**

 _Warmth_

Buck was not built for cold, not like Keeva, who had a double layer of coarse fur to keep her warm. Nevertheless, Buck was never one to ask for help.

The above ground was a lot colder than he remembered, the other mammals were huddled together around Sid's fire in the back of the cave. Even Keeva found a warm place piled up with her wolf family.

Buck remained curled up near the front of the cave, he'd been keeping watch, but someone would have to be crazier than him to be out in that blizzard. The wind from outside sliced through his shirt fur, chilling his bones, and making his teeth chatter.

Keeva's dark ears perked toward the sound, eyes dragging lazily open. Her night vision cut easily through the dark, spying her mate's quivering form huddled against a large bend of rock near the front of the cave. Glancing about, she found herself the only one woken by the slight disturbance, and rose to her feet, carefully disentangling herself from her family members.

She winced, without warm bodies pressing against her, the frigid made quick of robbing her of body heat. Repressing a shiver of her own, Keeva padded quietly over to Buck, finding him dead asleep despite it all. Shaking her head with a fond smile, she carefully and gently lifted the weasel up in her jaws, and retreated back to the far reaches of the cave.

Keeva laid down, pressing her back against Sage's, and tucked Buck into her side, curling around him like a protective cocoon. She was not at all surprised when he unconsciously reached for her tail, using it like some kind of security blanket.

With warmth seeping back into both of their bodies, Keeva let herself be dragged back down into a deep sleep.

 _Kiss_

Nearly lost in the far reaches of sleep, Keeva almost didn't feel it. A nose pressed into the base of her ear, it wasn't quite a kiss, but it was close, and Keeva stirred. Blinking past the invading sunlight, she spied Buck several paces away at the stream, hand full of net lining. He was smiling, humming a cheery tune while he worked. It seemed improbable, but still, Keeva wondered...

 _Early_

Buck was always the first to wake, always had been, but not because he was in a rush to start the day.

When Buck drug his eye open the next morning the first thing he saw was dark fur. He was completely surrounded by her. Her coarse bristle fur prickling his nose just a little, but it was well worth it to breathe in her scent (or his scent, they were almost always together, so now their individual scents were difficult for him to distinguish). Her tail draped over his hip like a blanket, the end clutched in his hands so tight he could feel the soft secondary fur beneath.

Lazily, he nuzzled into her shoulder, reluctant to rise just yet. He raised one hand from her tail to stroke the side of her neck, earning a sleepy hum from the slumbering wolf, but not waking her. He smiled, leaning up just a bit to reach her longish headfur, raking his claws through the shadowy strands, and tugging lightly on their ends. His mate shivered, he could feel the tremors move through her entire body. His smile turned into a smirk.

Gently, he pushed her tail aside and crawled around on all fours to face her. She was most peaceful when she was sleeping. Lightly, he strayed the side of her muzzle, his touch freather soft as he mapped the well remembered contours of her face. Her nose twitched, and she sighed through her nose. Dark eyelids pried open just enough for him to see a sliver of her blue irises, she gave him her best sleepy glare.

"Good morning, love." He purred. Dropping a kiss on her nose. Her eyes went a little cross and she scrunched her nose. She gave a faint, sleepy smile and reached up to brush her nose against his.

"Mornin'."

Buck woke up early to make sure he was the first thing his mate saw every morning.

 _Angel_

Buck smiled at the sight of his daughter sleeping soundly in the bend of his mate's leg. He leaned against Keeva's side, fingering her headfur idly.

"She's an angel isn't she?" Buck inquired, and Keeva scoffed a laugh. "Only when she's sleeping."

 _Jealous_

Buck never fancied himself a jealous creature, of course, he'd never really had anything to be jealous over either.

When Buck entered the den, he was greeted by a seemingly normal scene. Manny, Sid, Diego, and Keeva were huddled around the campfire laughing. Only, he didn't like Keeva's position. The dark she-wolf was slouched against Diego's side, head resting against the saber's broad shoulder, both of them laughing to their heart's content. And something about it just didn't sit right with the weasel.

Buck knew, from Keeva's stories, and by simply observing the two predators that they were really close. As close as siblings, Keeva would say, but of course, Buck was over analyzing the situation. Keeva was being affectionate, yes, but no where near the level of affectionate she reserved for him.

His stomach tightened uncomfortably anyway.

Keeva was loyal. To _him,_ she loved _him._ She was _his_ mate, and the mother to _their_ daughter. The frown didn't lift from his face, and his agitation spiked when Diego abruptly nipped Keeva's ear. The she-wolf's laughter filled the air again as she shoved his shoulder with her own. The action was returned, and before Buck could blink they were wrestling.

Diego pinned Keeva down, Buck tightened his grip on his knife, teeth flashing from beneath his upper lip.

"Kind of makes you jealous, doesn't it?" Shira's smooth voice overrode his immediate need to assert himself. The tigress padded silently into the cave, a sleeping Bronwyn on her back. "I don't like it either." She flashed him a sympathetic smile. "When she's that close to him, laughing with him, having those inside conversations with him. It doesn't exactly hurt, because they're not doing anything wrong." Shira's ears folded back, sea blue eyes soft and distant. "It's just, there's a whole different side to Diego that she knows that I'll never get to see."

Buck's own demeanor softened as the two turned back to watch their mates.

"I know what you mean."

 _Stories_

Keeva had never been much of a story teller, which was a bit of a fatal flaw when it came to childcare. Thankfully, Buck had bedtime stories down pat.

"Daddy, tell me a story!"

"Alright, alright." Buck said as he struck his knife into the dirt and scooped his daughter up into his arms. It was quite a feat, given that Bronywn would be six soon, she was nearly as big as her father now.

Keeva settled down in the far corner of the den, where it was warmest, Buck laid back against her side, and settled Bronwyn right beside him.

"Tell me a new one, Daddy. Please?"

"Hmm." Buck stroked the back of his daughter's head as he thought. "How about the time I used a broken clamshell to turn a T-Rex into a T-Rachel?"

"Yeah!" Bronwyn's tail wagged.

"No!" Keeva's eyes bugged out. "Keep it clean, Buck!"

"Clean? Keeva, there wasn't even any blood-"

 _"No."_

 **A/N: When Mom says no, she means no:) That's a pretty good batch this go around. Don't forget to leave your thoughts, and I'll see you in whatever I post next!**


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